The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-06
That school House Question.

x-H"Of ~ tfte FtittIhH NfG~.
COMO, FLA, May 4.
The citizens of Palatka. and. indeed.
of the whole county. should be thankful
to THE PAIATKA News for taking up the
question of the school house For what
is disgrace to Palatka in such matter.
reflects upon the whole county. Palatka
Is the county seat, the headquarters of
the county, and as such belongs. not to
herself alone but the whole county. In
some expressions in the columns of your
paper, not editorial, however, | have
heen sorry to perceive what indicated a
feeling of fear that the principal place
in the county desired To build itself up
at the expense of the county generally
That feeling originates. in my opinion.
in a mistaken sense of the true relations
existing betw cen Palatke and the. county
generally. Ii will be found true, in
general sense, that advancement in any
material interest a. affecting the county
finds its initiating influence. if not its
inception, in Palatka. Let any branch
of business become established on a
large and efficient scale in Palatka and
the beneficial influence Onall the interests
affected by it extend out from and beyond
the limits of the citythrough the whole
county. Let any branch of business Ian
guish in Palatka and the loss to the gen
eral body is felt likewiss beyond the cor
pOrate limits. Those of us who were
residents of the county before the city
attained its present position CONNER
cially, realize now what it means for Pa
latka to he behind the age. Where ig-
norance is bliss, etc, may be- trite
saying, but We have found that there j.
no folly in wisdom. where we enjoy the
benefit of having at our doors. belonging
To us. a general headquarters for so
many of the comforts. conveniences.
and materially the necessities of life
If the advancement of Palatka, mate
| rally. has advanced the whole county.
| a. | think every observing and thinking
| citizen will admit, why may We not ex-
| pect that an advancement in educational
matters will also work good. The great
want iii the county. to-day. is good. nav
| respectable school houses. Ii is safe To
| say that our schools generally are far
| superior to their accommodations. They
| are certainly worthy of better. Our
| Boards of Public Instruction have been
Jealous, and according to their lights.
| efficient in the discharge of their duties
| They certainly have advanced the stand
ard of the qualifications of the teachers.
and we think that the time Is come for a
/ beginning To he made ON the houses
| And where is there a better place to he
gin than in Palatka: Without going
into the details of the question as to how
much the county board should do in the
matter. it would seem that the initiative.
which must be taken by somebody,
| should be taken by the official conServa-
tors of our educational interests. There
| surely must Ice some mode by which the.
tax payers of the county can have their
money appropriated for such an object
| That they would he willing to contribute
their money when called upon in the.
legal way, cannot be- doubted. And if
the good work We're started in PaIatka
under official auspices, with the assur-
ance that it should not stop there. the
| lovers of education throughout the
county would hail the new departure
with gladness. We do not believe
that the public spirited citizens of Pa
latka would consent To stand idly by and
see the work carried out ut public ex-
| pense. but would he anxious to do their
| full share once the matter was started
under responsible parties.
But space Is limited, in the columns of
live newspaper. and | will only give
you these general hints. leaving your
readers To elaborate them in their own
minds as their interest or lack of inter
| may suggest. q. R.R